York 1sts continued their fine form against Teesside, as they eased home against their hosts in Middlesbrough.
The visitors could’ve been forgiven for approaching the game with an air of complacency given the opposition’s current position in the league. However, a combination of this lack in focus and an unfortunate reduction to the allocated warm-up time meant that in the first two quarters of the match, York failed to assert their dominance.
Hollie Dixson (at C) and Bronwen Dalley-Smith (at WA) struggled to move the ball past the centre third as York’s attacking movements were hesitant as the error count rose. The difference in the overall standard of play from the opposing team, in stark contrast to the well-contested matches of previous weeks, brought out a scrappy side to York’s performance.
The White Rose were not at a complete loss, however, and they asserted themselves as the better team from the offset, managing to maintain a comfortable lead throughout and demonstrating their strength as a team. York’s shooters, Grace Clarke and Emma Loft, were fed some impressive passes by Dixson and Dalley-Smith. When the balls were on target, the skill of the winning team shone through. The opposition’s defence struggled generally and there was a level of panic as they tried to bring the ball out of their attacking end with York’s attacking players turning in to a defensive unit.
Once York’s defence had adapted to the to the difference in height of the opposition, they were able to put pressure on the Teeside shooters and force them out of their attacking D. Carrie Green tracked her player and blocked her from being able to offer for the final pass, which meant that their shot-to-goal ratio was low given the inaccuracy. Green and Grace Baker (at GK) also converted a number of passes with Green’s overhead tips and Baker’s soaring interceptions. Lucy Daymond was as alert as ever at WD and would have converted numerous balls to York’s attacking end in the first quarter were it not for the curious decisions made by the umpires. York did unfortunately struggle with the umpires against Teeside and it made it difficult for both teams to play with any fluidity as the whistle was blown frequently and often unnecessarily.
Fortunately during York’s quarter-time talks, captain Dalley-Smith, instilled in York a necessity to remain focussed and to concentrate on playing a controlled and safe level of play to counteract any external factors. Green and Dixson had to be substituted due to injuries with Rachel Turner and Rhian Evans coming on in place of them. Turner (at C) made an impact straight away by keeping a comfortable distance from her player to time any interceptions available on their weak passes, but was also alert to put pressure on their passes, causing them to falter. Evans (at WA) was also a key player in defence working with Daymond (now at GD) and Baker as she proved to be a strong and committed player when it came to any challenges between her and the opposition’s WA. This strength in defence was influential to the game as a whole as it translated to York’s attacking end and the level of play in the third quarter was beginning to near York’s normal level.
Clarke and Loft had found that up until the third quarter they were both in the right space at the right time but were just not working in sync together and so were congesting their attacking D. This caused passes to be forced and, at times, balls were consequently converted by Teeside. However, by the fourth quarter, the chemistry between the attacking players was dominant, and York were left to demonstrate the same level of skill which has put them at the top of the league table. Turner dominated the edge of the attacking D with consistently accurate feeds in, and Dalley-Smith added a touch of finesse to the game with a particular mention going to her successful feeds to Clarke from the edge of the centre-third.
A satisfied Dalley-Smith said after the match: “After losing a couple of players to injury today I am so impressed with the way the girls adapted to the brand new combination we used today. Once again we demonstrated our dominance in ability as well as determination.”